Lonely burial for 60-yr-old as family stays put in quarantine

noida/gurugram: The pandemic is real and it is growing with each passing day. What is scarier is the fact that social-distancing norms need to be followed not only with those who are alive and kicking but also with those who are dead.

Be it staying in quarantine centres after testing positive for Covid or in case of death due to the deadly virus, those who are getting infected are forced to stay alone and get a lonely cremation in case of death.

Gathering of people while performing last rites has already been limited to only 20 persons in such trying times but those who die with Covid are deprived of this as well.

Nothing is more heart-wrenching when families, relatives and friends have to avoid going even near to the body of their loved ones who succumb to Covid.

In a case of the death of a 60-year-old man from Noida's Sector 66 area who died due to Covid on Friday, his son was left deprived of touching his father for the last time as his mother refused to allow him or any of his family members to touch her husband's body saying that she did not want to lose her children to the pandemic.

The family members of the deceased man were also serving quarantine at an institutional centre and could not even catch a final glimpse of their kin as none of them stepped out of the ambulance at the burial ground of Kakrala to perform the last rites.

His son, a BAMS student, wanted to participate in the burial but could not. Two doctors and a pharmacist, all Hindu, along with the cops carried the body from the hearse to the burial ground after wearing PPE kits while three 'maulvis' were called who eventually refused to go near the body.

A senior health officer told the Millennium Post that proper medical procedure is followed in case of death reported due to Covid and while one must not touch the body but there is no harm in performing the last rites after wearing PPE kits and taking proper precautions.

"If a person dies due to Covid, proper infection prevention control practices are performed. The health workers attending the body ensure proper use of PPE (water-resistant apron, goggles, N-95 mask, gloves). The body is completely rinsed with sodium hypochlorite solution and then packed in a leak-proof plastic body bag before being taken to the cremation ground in a hearse van," the officer said on condition of anonymity.

Delayed test results in Gurugram

Meanwhile in Gurugram, with an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, the district health department is also increasing the number of tests being conducted in Gurugram.

However, there are complaints that the test results are not being delivered on time. While the average time taken to deliver the results is one to two days, there are instances where the results have not been given even after a week.

Not only COVID-19 but even the non-COVID-19 patients are also facing trouble with the delayed results. According to reports, four bodies remained in Gurugram public mortuary for a week and their families could not conduct their last rites as their test results were awaited.

Till date, over 8,000 tests have been conducted in Gurugram, in which the results of over 430 samples are still awaited. One of the major reasons cited for this delay is the large number of samples that are being collected in government and private laboratories.

It is important to note that Gurugram does not have its own government laboratory and all the samples are mostly taken to PGIMS Rohtak for testing.

Besides PGIMS also deals with the samples of other 12 districts, including Palwal, Mahendargarh, Rohtak, Jind, Hisar, Rewari, Charkhi Dadri, Jhajjar, Fatehabad, Karnal and Fatehabad. While the Government laboratory can test only 900 samples per day, it is receiving over 1,500 samples daily.

Off late, the report of certain technical glitches at the government laboratory has delayed the results.

The six private laboratories that have been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research for testing are also being able to meet the standards of doing enough testing.

The delay in sample testing has led to a prolonged quarantine period for the patients. Moreover, with the number of positive cases only increasing, it is also putting additional pressure on the public health infrastructure in Gurugram.

Most of the private hospitals are now refusing to keep COVID-19 patients on its premises as there are large numbers of health workers who are also getting infected.

"On an average, we are sending over 200 samples daily for testing. As the number of cases in Gurugram has increased so have the samples. Due to the delay in testing, we have to increase the surveillance of suspected patients for a longer period," said a senior official from Gurugram health department.